Arthritis Remedies and Treatment Overview

ARTHRITIS

WHAT MAKES IT WORSE?

Nerve pain or wind bi (shifting pain, neuritis, neuralgia)	Stimulants; exhaustion; drying, hot, or irritating foods; aggravation; worry; anger
Hot bi (inflammatory arthrits)	Acidic foods; hot spices; alcohol; hot emotions (rage, jealousy)
Cold bi (rheumatism)	Exposure to inclement weather: cold foods; iced drinks; anti-inflammatory drugs
Damp bi	Humidity; phlegm-producing, low-nutrition diet; weakness; depression; hormone imbalance
Rheumatic arthritis	Infection wind-cold-damp and hot-damp
Rheumatoid arthritis	Wind-cold-damp, malnutrition, weakness
Osteoarthritis	Malnutrition; exhaustion; chemotherapy; hormone imbalance; immune-threatening illness

WHAT MAKES IT BETTER?

TYPE	EXAMPLE	TYPE OF HERB	EXAMPLE
Nerve pain wind	neuralgia	Nervines, herb combinations for local relief	Valerian
Inflammatory arthritis (chill stage) (hot stage)	Early rheumatoid cold-hot-wind-damp	Drying/warming nervine, increase circulation, antiphlegm	Myrrh
Knees, pain, and stiffness		demulcent	Yucca capsules
Knees, lower-body joint pain, swelling	hot-cold-wind-damp		AH&HR Guan Jie Yan Wan
Osteoporosis		Nutritive tonics, anti-inflammatory herbs	Antler 8, Restorative Tablets, Eucommia 19

Arthritis Treatments-Help For Osteoporosis

We tend to think of osteoporosis as a disease of age, a menopausal complication. But it is also encouraged by blood deficiency that can occur at any time form cancer therapies, corticosteroids, blood disease, severe blood loss, and weak adrenal strength. These contribute to malabsorption, fatigue, and poor immune response.

If you have osteoporosis or wish to prevent it, nutrition and blood-building are just as important in your health-care routine as cleansing. Certain tonic herbs enhance the body's ability to generate what make bones strong-- blood and bone marrow.

One popular remedy in china is thinly sliced deer antler, now sold in Chinese pharmacies in the West as well as Asia. Deer antler is shed yearly. It is quite effective in rebuilding bone marrow depleted by harsh medical therapies or illness. If you ever go to the trouble of simmering sliced deer horn for hours in a double boiler, you will feel the benefits immediately. It feels as though your bone marrow is relaxing, taking a deep breath, and sighing from relief. Several types of deer horn are used. Cervus sika stag horn contains protein and collagen and is used as a tonic stimulant. Antelope horn contains calcium phosphate and is an antispasmodic, antipyretic (anti fever) tonic.

Fortunately, a less expensive vegetarian substitute is now available. Simmer one handful each of epimedium leaves and lycium fruit (Goji Berries) in a quart of water for twenty minutes, strain, and drink two cups a day.

Arthritis Pill Treatments
For treatment of osteoporotic pain, Chinese traditional doctors recommend herbal combinations that nourish kidney/adrenal energy and generate blood production and at the same time build chi, help balance hormones, and prevent pain. This multifaceted approach requires combining one or two main herbal remedies along with others that deal with secondary complaints.

Start with two combinations by Seven Forest that nourish kidney and liver blood and bone marrow: Antler 8 and Restorative Tablets. (Your health-food store can order them)

The first of these contains 50 percent deer antler and less then 10 percent salvia, dendrobium, rehmannia, tortoiseshell, tang kuei, aquilaria, and cardamom. Antler 8 provides nourishment and support for persons from Western cancer therapies, corticosteroids, HIV, leukemia, severe blood loss, fatigue, kidney-related problems, and osteoporosis. It helps generate blood and bone marrow.

Combine this with Restorative Tablets for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Restorative Tablets reduce heat symptoms such as afternoon fever or hot flashes. Men or women can use it for prolonged feverish diseases and general weakness related to internal heat. It is cooling because it replaces moisture with 10 percent each of processed human placenta, tortoises shell, and rehmannia. It contains antifever herbs such as anemarrhena and ophisopogonis as well as other blood-building herbs.

A vegetarian substitute for this remedy could be the less expensive Chinese patent remedy Liu Wei Di Huang Wan which builds blood (and yin) for kidney and liver.

Antler 8 and Restorative Tablets or their equivalents ensure blood production and nutrition necessary to slow inflammatory and consumptive symptoms of a long term inflammatory disease.

Additions For Specific Problems

Add to Antler 8 and Restorative Tablets the following combination for specific problems: Ganoderma 18 for fatigue and low immune strength.

Nature's Sunshine products, from Spanish Fork, Utah, offers two formulas used to balance the Water element: Qu Shi (“Remove Dampness”) and Jian Gu (“Strengthen Bones”). The first, which treats edema in the legs, poor digestion, and joint swelling, is more for cleansing. The second, as its name implies, is more of a supportive remedy. Jian Gu is recommended for weak and sore back and legs, urinary dysfunction, recovery from broken bones, osteoporosis, exhaustion from work, and difficulty in hearing or breathing related to kidney (adrenal) weakness. Both formulas are vegetarian and are best taken between meals.

By merely reading the list of symptoms these herbal remedies treat, we clearly see that osteoporosis is more complicated than we thought. By the same token, there is much more we can do to prevent or treat it than lift weights and take calcium pills when we remember.

Arthritis Treatments- Inflammatory Joint Pain.

Caution: Strongly anti-inflammatory herbs such as the combinations that follow are not recommended during pregnancy.

If any of the home cooked brews below cause diarrhea, you will want to reduce the dosage by half. If they do not cause diarrhea, follow the directions and take them between meals.

Home Remedies Included are two recipes in this section that you have to cook yourself. You will find that they taste like medicine, not soup, so these recipes are best served cold. After taking them for a while you will notice that they are cleansing and soothing. You never know, you might actually start to like the flavor.

Boil the same batch of herbs twice, so you can save some money. Keep the resulting broth in the refrigerator when you're not using it.

The first recipe is from a TCM textbook. The second if from the classic A Barefoot Doctor's Manual (Running Press). The ingredients are easily available online. You can order through the links in this post for your convenience, otherwise just Google the names and you should be able to find numerous places to purchase them.

Antibiotic Remedy

For rheumatic arthritis with inflammatory symptoms that include fever, swollen pinful joints, red hot limbs, red tongue with yellow, greasy coating, and rapid pulse, simmer these herbs together in 1 gallon water for 45 minutes and drink several cups a day:

30 grams honeysuckle
30 grams dandelion  
30 grams viola ( Chinese violet)
15 grams wild chrysanthemum flower  
9 grams root of muskroot-like semiaquilega (Radix semiaquilegiae)
12 grams achyranthes root
24 grams plantain herb
24 grams fu ling  

The antibiotic treatment of rheumatic arthritis combines herbs that normalize body temperature, replace fluids, and reestablish electrolyte balance. These antibiotic herbs are said to clear heat and toxins from your blood and promote circulation. Which halts the spread of bacteria. The first several herbs are antibiotic, anti-inflammatory blood cleansers, the last three are diuretic. Achyranthes is specifically added to guide the cleansing herbs to treat soreness and swollen joints in the lower body, especially the knees. The remedy's treatment principle is to kill germs and reduce fever, pain, and water retention by the most effective means. through the urine

A BAREFOOT DOCTOR'S BREW

This non-antibiotic herbal treatment for inflammatory joint pain clears fever, controls wind by reducing excess nerve irritation, and increases circulation. It is suitable for anyone with painful, red, swollen joints, rheumatoid arthritis, or aches due to food allergies or inadequate digestion. It is a decoction, to be cooked for 30 minutes. Use one handful each of three herbs in 1 gallon water. Drink two or three cups per day cold, between meals.

Wu jia pi (Cortex acanthopanacis)
Wei ling xian (Radix clemetidis chinensis)
Mulberry twigs

These herbs are commonly used to “dispel wind damp” by increasing circulation and quieting nerve pain